Blah!

Well...that sucked.

This morning was to be a 7 miler. Key word there is 'was'. Last Saturday's 6 miler went well, so what's another mile?

Just to back up a little...I was a bit of a slacker this week and only did a 2 miler on Thursday. Piece of cake, right? But to my delight I was visited by the shin demons. My left shin knotted up after about a mail and I had to stretch more. The rest of the way was run/walk.

So back to today. We all know it was Africa hot...even at 7am. But was prepared as could be. So off we went. And by the 1st mile my shin wound up as tight as a golf ball. I could barely tilt my foot up and down. At that point I had to relieve myself as a 'pace' leader. Handed my watch off to one of the runners so they could keep time.

I continued at my own pace. Stretch...walk....stretch...walk...run...repeat. I did this for 4 miles and called it a morning. Wasn't worth the aggrevation.

After the run, Lora and I had appointments with our masseuse. Lora has been a regular but I haven't seen her in quite a few months. Needless to say I was overdue. And she could tell. After all was said and done, the masseuse along with the wellness center's manager (who is also a chiropractor...and ironically a former downstairs neighbor when I lived in the city) feel I should take the route of orthodics. I know that is one way to go, but I also know that if I commit myself to daily stretching and strength training, I might be able to over come it that way.

One problem. And if you have seen some of my other entries in the past....I have an issue with procrastination. I know exactly what I need to do, but doing it is a whole other thing.

So...there it is...now what?

Running and Music and Hiking...Oh My!

Saturday...7am...lakefront running....a success! Although I am pacing a small group, it's a perfect pace for me...for now. We had a 4/1 run/walk for 6 miles. The best thing for me was during the minute of walking, I was able to stretch my shins each time while the group caught up with me (ok, I should be along side my group while running, but they understood that I needed to be a bit quicker). Trust me, it's not like I was trail blazer. Bottom line was that I was able to finish the 6 miles and had no pain. A very good sign indeed.

Later in the afternoon it was back to to my old neighborhood to check out one of the many street festivals in Chicago. 'Summer on Southport' was about 4 blocks of food, beverage, music, trinkets and good people.




Sunday it was off to Wisconsin and do some hiking. Kettle Moraine is about a 1.5 hour drive from Chicago. Lora and I put in 7.5 miles that had some decent terrain. It was a perfect day, although a little breeze would have been helpful near the end.


And to finish off the weekend, the Chicago C.R.U. got together for some grub at FlatTops. It was nice putting some faces/bodies to the blogs. We rock.

RR? Another shot?

It's been a while....

(as sung by Staind)

Last two weeks have flown by....sorta.

Here I sit in an educational seminar for oncologists discussing what they're gonna do for the next annual convention. Important and eduactional but man is it boring...almost robotic. No, I'm not an oncologist. What I do is oversee and support these and many other types of conventions and/or trade shows that utilize any audio, video, lighting, projection, staging and/or data equipment.

Work has been pretty busy this summer. Generally in Chicago, it slows down a bit in July as far as conventions but not this July. Of course this is a good thing, but I feel it's about time for a vacation.

That was the 'flown by' part....here's the 'sorta' part...I'm lazy. Running...biking...weights...nutritian...just lazy. No other way to put it. Throw in a hearty dose of procrastination and that's me.

But I have taken a step in the right direction. A couple of weeks ago I joined Lora with the Chicago Roadrunner's Half Marathon training program. It takes place on the lakefront at 7am on Saturdays. I was kinda pumped for it. The only other time I ran on the lakefront was last summer during our marathon training...but it was only once & I liked it. So I joined one of the run/walk groups since I know I am in no shape to keep a steady run at this time. It did feel good to 'get back out there'. But alas, that was it. I haven't run since. A couple bike rides here and there, but nothing to brag about or consider as 'training'.

So tomorrow I'm back on the lakefront with the training group, but here's the twist. They have a couple people that can't continue due to health issues and they need a couple repleacement pace leaders. Yep, I'm one. So I'll help out with the slow run/walk group (the only one I could have volunteer for). I'll let you know how it turns out.

Maybe this is the kick in the ass I need...

Pseudo Monday

It felt like a Monday waking up. Work definitely felt like a Monday. Not out of the office til 5:30pm. Another long Monday.

But wait...it might be...it could be...it is...Holy Cow!! It's Wednesday!!! Short work weeks are almost as good as a Cubs sweep of the Cardinals. And since that won't happen, this is extra sweeeeeet.

Hope everyone had an enjoyable and safe holiday weekend. I was basically a sloth with a sprinkling of festival shenanigans.

After work today decided to climb on the bike and head out for a spin. Nothing dramatic...16 miles in an hour. Have to grab these 'crisp' summer evenings when they are available.